MJC woman places 5th in NorCal cross country

Modesto Junior College freshman Ana Mendes finished fifth in the Northern California cross country championships Saturday at Beals Point in the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area.

The Livingston High grad covered the 3-mile course in 19 minutes, 15 seconds. Caitlin Roake of San Mateo won by 32 seconds in 18:22.

Mendes and freshman teammate Natalie Benoy (17th, 20:21) helped MJC place sixth and qualify for the state meet Nov. 17 in Fresno. American River College won the team title.

MJC MEN, at Sacramento -- The MJC men also qualified for state with their 10th-place finish. Freshman John Rea (37th, 22:20) and soph Benny Perez (43rd, 22:37) led the way on the four-mile course. Perez, who had sinus problems Saturday, was the MJC men's lone state qualifier last season. Coach Demitrius Snaer said of the entire team qualifying this season: "It was very inspiring to have the team rise to the challenge."

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CSU STANISLAUS MEN, at Boise, Idaho -- Vicente Moreno and Bobby Olivera of Cal State Stanislaus finished in the top 15, earning All-Region honors at the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships on Saturday at Eagle Island State Park.

Moreno, the CCAA champion, clocked 30:50.20 on the 10,000-meter course to finish sixth, narrowly missing an at-large spot in the NCAA nationals Saturday, Nov. 17 in Joplin, Mo. Olivera was 14th in 31:06.31.

Stanislaus coach Kim Duyst said Moreno was bothered by a cramp the last mile but "hung in there tough."

Chico State won the team championship, followed by Western Washington and UC San Diego as the team qualifiers for the nationals. Stanislaus finished sixth with 172 points. St . Martin's John Riak won the race in 30:32.75.

Jessica Pixler of team champion Seattle Pacific won in 19:53 and became the first woman to break 20 minutes in the regionals in 10 years. Seattle Pacific edged Cal State L.A. Third-place Chico State and fourth-place UC San Diego also qualified for the nationals.

Stanislaus was 12th. Erin Frier of Stanislaus ran a 21:26 to finish 16th, just missing out on an All-Region honor.

SAC-JOAQUIN SUB-SECTIONS, at Angels Camp -- Davis-Yolo won the team title by one point over Folsom, with Modesto (3rd), Grace Davis (5th) and Beyer (7th) also advancing to sections.

Beyer's Crystal Esparza was fifth in 19:29. Sable Browning of Merced (6th, 19:37) and Amanda Innes of Grace Davis (7th, 19:39) also cracked the top 10.

Basketball

CAL POLY-SAN LUIS OBISPO 97, CSU STANISLAUS 89, at San Luis Obispo -- The Warriors lost the exhibition game despite 23 points from forward Rick Cardoso and 17 each from guards Calvin Westbrook and Heath Colvin.

Water Polo

WOMEN'S Big 8 CHAMPIONSHIPS, at Merced -- M JC lost to American River 6-3 but edged Delta 7-6 and is headed for the NorCal playoffs as a No. 3 seed.

Karen Ard had three goals against ARC. Against Delta, Lauren Griffin had three and Collette Lash and Michaela Solario two each and goalie Lorna Lynott made 21 saves. Annie Zwahlen had a big steal with 11 seconds to go to seal the MJC win, and Lynott playing well allowed MJC to use its speed to counterattack. "We really got the girls peaking at the right time," said MJC coach Kurt Olson.

SONOMA ST. 3, CSU STANISLAUS 2, at Rohnert Park -- The Seawolves (13-12, 9-7 CCAA) prevailed 32-34, 27-30, 35-33, 30-18, 15-9 for their eighth win in their last nine matches. Stanislaus (6-22, 2-14) was serving at match point in the third game before the Seawolves rallied. Warrior Debbie Vander Schaaf finished with a match-high 24 kills and 11 digs.